


Jace's Girl

by majesdaniangirl



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Isabelle Lightwood, Bisexual Lydia Branwell, F/F, F/M, Female Character of Color, Nicknames, Pining, Songfic, Strong Female Characters, Unfortunately straight Clary Fray, Unrequited Love, isabelle-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 04:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10802247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesdaniangirl/pseuds/majesdaniangirl
Summary: Isabelle Lightwood could have anyone in New York, and yet is taken by Clary Fray. Unfortunately, Clary is horribly and unfortunately taken, and dating Izzy's brother instead.( or, izzy pines, jace & clary are oblivious, and everything turns out okay in the end )





	Jace's Girl

**Author's Note:**

> This songfic uses the lyrics of Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield. I do not own these lyrics, nor claim to own them. All characters belong to Cassandra Clare and I claim no right to them.

_Jessie is a friend,_  
_Yeah, I know he's been a good friend of mine_  
_But lately something's changed_  
_It ain't hard to define_  
_Jessie's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine_

Clary Fray came into their lives in a whirlwind of danger and excitement. She was new, and passionate, and reckless, and could Izzy be blamed that she fell a bit in love with the girl? Every time she smiled Izzy got a light feeling in her chest that had her walking on air, and she was smitten. 

There was a problem, of course. Izzy saw the way Jace looked at Clary, and saw exactly how those looks were returned. And so she was content to steal glances as the girl walked past and get by on simple brushes of their hands during training. 

Well, mostly content.

_And she's watching him with those eyes_  
_And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it!_  
_And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night_

She heard them at night. Almost every night, the murmurs and moans began and she was forced to cover her ears with a pillow. When it got really bad, she went to Alec’s room. He understood what it was like to want someone that you can’t have, and held her while she cried into his arms. 

The next day, she has Jace pinned to the ground after five minutes of sparring.

_You know I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_Where can I find a woman like that?_

Before Clary, Isabelle had never even looked at another woman, preferring to set her sights on those of the opposite gender. She’d never even considered herself to be bisexual, until setting eyes on the girl.

It was like she had been seeing the world and black and white, and it finally exploded into color. She was kind, and loyal, and spirited, and ignited a fire in Isabelle that she’d never experienced before. She was ready to follow this red-headed enchantress to hell and back.

She wasn’t stupid. She saw how Clary glanced at her brother when she thought nobody was looking, and how Jace did the same. She saw the small smiles that only they could wrench from each other. She saw the way they kissed in the middle of the Institute.

_I play along with the charade_  
_That doesn't seem to be a reason to change_  
_You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute_  
_I wanna tell her that I love her but the point is probably moot_

She was the best friend. The mediator. She had Clary’s back, no matter what, and knew that the girl would return the favor.

She was the one that Clary would rant to after a fight with Jace, comforting her best friend in exactly the way she should. She gave advice, and lingering hugs that smelled of paint, and urged her to go make up with him. As she should.

Izzy knew where she stood, and didn’t overstep her bounds. She knew that the feelings weren’t reciprocated, and so there was no point in even trying. At least this way, she still got to hang around Clary.

The only downside was when Jace was there too.

_'Cause she's watching him with those eyes_  
_And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it!_  
_And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night_

And without fail, Izzy volunteers to be with Clary on every mission and every expedition. She’s certain that people around the Institute suspect by now, but most importantly, Jace and Clary don’t (and the gossip hasn’t made it’s way to them yet). Or, if she’s lucky, people know better than to reveal Izzy’s secrets by now.

It’s because they’re best friends, that she hasn’t got anything more than odd glances every now and then. Otherwise, she would be in trouble.

_You know I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_Where can I find a woman like that?_

She loved Jace. He was like a brother to her, just as much as Alec and Max. She couldn’t imagine her life without him. That didn’t stop the jealousy that curled in the pit of her stomach whenever she saw him with Clary, or talking about Clary, or in regards to anything to do with Clary.

For the girl that was best friends with, and secretly in love with the girl, she sure did hate to talk about Clary Fray.

_Like Jessie's girl_  
_I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_Where can I find a woman..._  
_Where can I find a woman like that?_

They trade pet names like it’s second nature. If everyone at the Institute didn’t already know better, they would have been convinced that Isabelle and Clary were dating, just for the amount of times Izzy calls her ‘babe’ instead of her name. 

And Izzy would be embarrassed by it, but Clary laughs and calls her ‘girlfriend’ (even though they’re not), and she can’t bring herself to care. 

_And I'm lookin' in the mirror all the time_  
_Wonderin' what she don't see in me_  
_I've been funny; I've been cool with the lines_  
_Ain't that the way love's supposed to be?_

She loved clothes. She loved watching herself change before her eyes, finding the way she wanted to look that day. What she didn’t love, was the thoughts that had begun to accompany her throughout her morning routine.

( Why doesn’t she love me? Not pretty enough? Not sexy enough? Not enough? )

_Tell me, why can't I find a woman like that?_

And Izzy tried to move on, really. There was no sense in pining after a taken (straight ) woman, no matter how gorgeous she was.

So she went dancing. She saw mundanes and faeries and warlocks and werewolves and vampires, and none were satisfying. Not the males or the females. All she could do was compare them to red hair and green eyes and pale skin. Nobody measured up.

And so Isabelle went home alone night after night.

_You know I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_I want Jessie's girl_  
_Where can I find a woman like that?_

When Lydia knocks on Isabelle’s door, she’s not sure what she expected. But the Nephilim’s hair is tangled and her mascara is running, and Lydia can’t let this go on any further.  
“Izzy, you can’t keep doing this to yourself.” She murmured, taking out a pad of makeup remover and swiping it gently over her eyes. “She isn’t worth it.”  
“You know?” Isabelle closed her eyes, glad her face was finally clean.

“Of course I do. At this point, the only people that don’t are Clary and Jace.” Lydia responded, almost wryly, before remembering she was supposed to be comforting.  
“I just...I knew it would happen eventually. I just wasn’t expecting it so...soon, you know?” Izzy sniffled softly, holding back her tears.

“I know. And I know it will be hard for you in the next few weeks. You’ll be the maid of honor. You’ll have to help plan the wedding, because Clary wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it properly.” Lydia rested a hand on her shoulder. “I just want to let you know that I’m here if you need anything, okay?”

Izzy nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. Lydia stood up, having said her piece, and made to leave to room when the other woman spoke up. “Wait! Um, there actually is something you can do for me.”

When Lydia turned back around, there was a fire in Isabelle’s eyes, one that she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Anything.” She said softly. Anything to keep that light burning.  
And Isabelle’s lip quirked up at that. “I could use a date to the wedding.”

_Like Jessie's girl_  
_I wish that I had Jessie's girl_  
_I want, I want Jessie's girl_

When she walks to her seat, hand in hand with Lydia Branwell, the entire Institute watching them like hawks, she can only smile.

And when Clary walks down the isle, dressed in long white tresses, all it takes is Lydia squeezing her hand to bring her back to the present.

And maybe, just maybe, it would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please feel free to give kudos or comment below!


End file.
